


In between worlds.

by beautifulaura



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Alternate Ending, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fanfiction, Gender-Neutral Apprentice (The Arcana), Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Multi, My First Fanfic, Original Character(s), Originally Posted on Tumblr
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-03
Updated: 2020-09-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:34:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26263495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beautifulaura/pseuds/beautifulaura
Summary: - BASED OFF OF THE REVERSED ENDING. -Asra and the Apprentice are living their best life at the Oasis. Until the same voices come back again, but this time instead of silencing them, they decide to investigate.
Relationships: Apprentice/Asra (The Arcana)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	1. Voices in the Oasis.

**Author's Note:**

> ORIGINALLY POSTED ON TUMBLR.  
> I made quite a short chapter.  
> This is my first fanfiction, sorry for the mistakes.

Surely the Oasis was calm, and being there with Asra and Faust made things much better. The two of them kept the apprentice happy, they were in their own world, in a happy world where they were safe from harm.

… But Faust was not as happy, apparently. She kept going away, and then returning, sometimes even calling them, or Asra. Every once in a while, they all would go together to the lake Asra dried up after hearing some voices, and it was always the same.

Asra would ask her “What’s wrong, Faust?”, and she would start saying “Friends” over and over, but it was only the three of them there, no friends. (...) No friends… ah, there it is, a headache. Once again, feels familiar… when did they hurt that way… maybe sleeping will soothe their pain, maybe. 

"Asraaa." They called, already tucking themselves in bed.

"Whaaat. Oh, you want to take a little nap?" And seeing them nod was all he needed, he took his shoes off and crawled into bed with the person he loved. "My, are you cold in the middle of the day?"

"... And in the middle of the desert. It's just, I can't sleep without a blanket, it makes me feel protected."

Asra couldn't help but laugh, they were so cute… "Ah, you might wanna lose your protection." He stated. "You'll wake up sweating. Besides… I'm right here. You can always count on me to protect you, my love."

The little kiss he planted on their forehead was more than enough to feel Asra's magic flow through them, it felt as if they were swirling around for a bit, and then they became one, easing the pain of their headache, too. "I know. You're always there when I need you the most… I love you, Asra. You know that, right?" They asked, looking up at him. 

"I do know that. You show it to me, every day, every hour…" he paused for a second. "I feel lucky, to be loved by such a talented, powerful magician…" and as he was leaning in for a kiss, Faust appeared out of nowhere. 

"Cuddle!" The snake got in between, almost making herself a sandwich in the process. 

The lovers laughed, and then showered Faust with affection. "You're such a love bug." Said the apprentice, laying with her on their tummy, letting Asra's familiar wrap around itself, and suddenly, she shouted "Outside!".

Of course as soon as Faust's head popped up, both magicians got themselves upright, and looked outside of the window, only to be greeted with… a large amount of sand, and a lake. 

"Didn't I drain that lake?" Asra's confusion was more than evident, he seemed… scared. 

"Yeah… but look at it…" they couldn't help but notice how there were some distorted images, and distorted voices coming from the lake, which looked more like a really big puddle. "We should take a look at that. If it keeps coming back… maybe… ugh." Rubbing their temples, they stood up and wrapped their body in a silk scarf, "Come on, Asra, Faust. We shall make this quick." And before the magician could make any comments on their health, he was forced to follow the apprentice, who was walking briskly towards the lake. 

Red silk floated and played in the wind as they ran to the source of the voices. And as soon as they got there and touched the surface of the water… 

"Ah, you're safe!" A woman wearing quite a colorful outfit let out a sigh of relief, and the man beside her started to tear up. There were other people too, a guy with red hair wearing an eyepatch, other that looked a bit intimidating, a girl with red curly hair, and… what could have been a princess from a fairytale. 

"Do I…" before they could continue, the curly haired man spoke.

"Asra! You're both safe… I guess he did keep the promise."

"Promise? They literally bargained with him." that was the guy with the eyepatch.

"Okay, you all!" Finally, the apprentice spoke up. "First of all, I am glad that… you're glad we're okay. But… may I ask - and it can be a bit uncomfortable, who are you?" A sudden look of sorrow struck through the faces of the group. "How… did you manage to contact us? Asra drained the water in this lake so you couldn't contact us, but still-"

"Friends!" Faust finally showed herself. "Big friend too!"

"I… see. So, Muriel, you were right." The gloomy face of the white haired woman only made Asra and the apprentice feel terrible, sad, and confused, all at once. "Just to make sure… you don't remember our names, am I right?" Both of them nodded. 

"Yes, you're right, ma'am." Their headache was terrible, but they were pushing through.

"But you seem to know us." Asra broke his silence. "Time for me to ask a question, who are you all? Why did you contact us?"

The group chatted for a bit, worried faces looking at them every once in a while. Faust seemed worried, too. 

"We shall show you, magicians." The 'princess' finally spoke. "As it is a bit difficult to explain what's going on, we decided that it is best for you to see with your own eyes. 

Faust seemed strangely eager to go to the other side of the portal, but Asra had some doubts. "How do we know this is not a trap?" He was talking to the apprentice, but on the other side they heard him too. 

"We shall take this risk, Asra… this is the second time they've called us."

"But, listen to-"

"Trust me, I know… I just… feel we have to be there." They looked at Asra right in the eyes. "We can come back here, but they can't enter. We should be safe."

After a bit of hesitation, Asra grabbed their hand, and both of them had the idea of casting protections on each other. Feeling a little more reassured, they went through and… a sudden sense of dread filled the apprentice's body, almost as if they did something wrong. A voice was reprimanding them, but it seemed distant. Perhaps because of Asra's magic, or their protections, or… 

Their thoughts suddenly came to an end when what seemed to be a palace appeared in front of them, but it was not dreamy. It was… 

"What… what happened?" Asra's voice trembled, he was pressing hard on his temples, and squeezing his companion's hand really hard. Same for the apprentice, both of them didn't fully understand. 

"First things first. I shall introduce us… again. I am the countess, Nadia." Nadia… their headache became worse. "He's Doctor Julian, Muriel, Portia, and Aisha and Salim. Oh, and their familiars, Chimes and Flamel." Now, it was almost unbearable. 

"I- listen, we… we don't have to do with anything of this!" The apprentice tried to control themselves, but the headache made it almost impossible. "And… we used to know you? That's impossible! We-"

"We should go back." Asra interrupted. "We have seen too much. You wanted our help, right? Well, we might be more helpful without this headache." 

"... Very well. Remember our names, please." Nadia spoke softly, but at the same time, it was more of a demand.

"And please... stay safe." Aisha and Salim seemed like they were about to burst in tears. 

"We'll come back once we have this sorted. Until we meet again." Asra mouthed that dry goodbye, leaving Muriel, Julian and Portia speechless. 

…

And as soon as they were back into the Oasis… their headache eased. But the feeling of doing something wrong still lingered on the apprentice's mind. 

"We don't know them, how do they know us?" They asked. 

"Well… You said you didn't know me when I…" 

"I get it, I get it… but it seems different. Almost as if… ugh, you know what? We've worked a lot today. Let's get some rest… and tea sounds nice, too. Do you want chai?"

"Chai would be marvelous." Asra kissed their hands. "Let's get going then, my love."


	2. Red sky.

“Thanks for the tea, Nima.” Asra put his cup down looking quite satisfied, almost sleepy. “As always, it was delicious.”

“I’m pretty sure you keep saying that to avoid being the one to do the brewing.” Nima swirled the little tea remaining in her cup, “Am I wrong?”

“Well, it… Obviously it isn’t true! I love everything you make. It’s almost as if your hands are blessed.” Asra rested his head on Nima’s shoulder, and they took their time drinking the rest of the liquid. "Especially that white tea…"

“Is that so.” they finally set the now empty cup on the table, and let themselves enjoy that little moment of peace. The sun was setting by now, so everything was bathed in an orange tint, and the sky was changing colors. "It's so pretty here." they spoke, softly. 

"And I believe it's because of you." Asra's voice was soft, but loud enough to be heard. He grabbed Nima's left hand, caressing their knuckles. "Everywhere you go, your beauty follows." 

They couldn't help the embarrassment growing inside of them. It was… too much. Asra was too much. "We should take a little nap, see if we feel better and probably… contact them."

"Them? Ah, right. The people we saw on that lake." The white haired magician stretched a bit. "I agree a nap would be the best alternative." He looked outside. "... it's already dark. Wow, time flies.” 

“We should head to take a big nap, then. Eight hour nap at least.” Nima giggled and gestured to Asra to stand up so they could go to bed, but he insisted on laying on their shoulder. "Come on! I will let you fall over if you don't move."

"Oh, I know you won't." He was smiling, overflowing with confidence that his beloved wouldn't allow him to fall - and he was right. He was totally right, they didn't move for a while. "I'm waiting-"

"Oh come on! I don't want to let you fall, what if you hurt yourself? I don't want that." Seeing them pout, Asra just smiled and lifted himself from their shoulder. "Finally! Let's go to bed."

"May I lay on your chest?"  
"I think it's my turn to lay on you."

Asra fell asleep quite quickly, or so thought Nima, as they were laying on his chest and heard his heart rate slow down a bit. 

But they couldn't fall asleep no matter what, and if they did, it didn't last long. Staring at nothing in particular, Nima wondered, was it that everyone on the other side was… waiting for them? No, the people on the lake said they were gonna wait for them. Of course they were afraid of breaking their pact with The Devil, which Nima hadn't forgotten, but, did Asra? He fell asleep quite quickly.

Thinking about that, Nima put some protections on them, including Faust, that was curled upon herself on Nima's empty pillow. "Why friend worry?"

"Didn't mean to wake you up, Faust." They had to come up with a lie, quick. "You know, tomorrow we're going somewhere we don't know. It's best to go well protected."

"Faust protects too." she sounded so confident saying it, that Nima's fears eased a little bit.

She was just so precious. Nima lazily stroked her, and went right to sleep. Perhaps they were just too tired, or the protections did get someone... or something away.

The next morning, Asra woke up first, the smell of toasted bread and freshly brewed tea and coffee floated around in the air, waking up Nima and Faust, who were sleeping together. 

"Yummy smell!" Faust moved as quickly as she could, and tried to get some food for herself. But first, she drank water.

"That was mine, Faust! Ah, no problem, I will get myself some- ah, Nima! Good morning." He stood by the door to the room. "I was getting worried, you normally wake up as soon as I leave the bed."

"I didn't feel you leaving, how did you manage that?" they rubbed their eyes for a bit while a very worried Asra stared at them. 

"I actually tried to wake you up several times, so we could make breakfast together…" he paused. "But it was almost as if you… didn't hear me." silence filled the room, as neither of them knew what to say. "What happened, did you go somewhere in your dreams?"

"No, nothing like that, I just didn't sleep that good last night, I was awake for a bit… a bit too long." They yawned, but Asra was not buying it. "Also, did you make tea?"

Even if he was so worried, that still caught him off guard. "Yeah, some white tea… I still can't get it right."

"What can't you get right? I might be able to help." 

"Brewing time, and everything you infuse it with… what do you put in it?" And as soon as Asra asked that question, Nima jumped.

"Are you really asking for my secret white tea recipe? No, no, no, that's going waaaay too far, Asra! I am not saying!" And just like that, Nima cut him off and rushed over to pour themselves a little tea. "... what did you put here?"

"A little of everything, except pepper and some other spices. I was trying to achieve the sweet flavor of your white tea." he was clearly trying to flirt, but Nima was so focused on the tea that they didn't quite hear the tone of his voice. 

"I must admit, it is quite good, but the cinnamon overpowers the other flavors, even the tea's. I don't mind, though, it is very good for your health." They were thinking hard about what was missing, really. "Huh. Good job, Asra. I'd cut down on the cinnamon a bit to be able to taste the white tea." They discussed tea topics until they decided it was time to go. 

Asra wrapped his red silk scarf, and Nima… "What are you doing, Nima?"

"I… was gonna ask the cards a little something?" They stopped shuffling the deck. "I already did, but, eh, I was gonna get answers."

"That card is sticking out." 

"Oh, let's see…" the sudden expression of joy explained everything. "I love it when Death shows itself, good things are gonna happen, Asra.”

Nima spoke all the way to the lake about the scenarios they wanted to happen, but Asra on the other hand, was totally focused on what was gonna happen once they arrived. All the faces were so familiar, and the couple… but he couldn’t trust his gut feeling in a situation like that, he knew something was off, but didn’t know what it was. The magician just cleared his mind from those thoughts and kept walking forward.

Once they arrived, it was just a single person there. The big one, Muriel, was it? Asra couldn’t say for sure. “Today is just you?” he asked.

“Yes.” Muriel’s answer was very short, leaving both magicians quite puzzled. “I am guessing you don’t remember my name.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Nima decided to be fully honest with him, his expression didn’t change.

“Not to worry.” and again, there was that awkward silence. “Are you both ready to cross?”

“You know what awaits, Nima.” as soon as that voice came, it vanished. Nima shuddered, that feeling, and that voice were a little bit too familiar. Their chest glowed with a faint light that soon ceased to shine.

However, Asra was ready to go, he didn’t seem to be bothered about that voice, so it should be fine, right? Nima shook the feeling and put on a brave face.

“I do not blame you for not trusting us.” Muriel’s face dropped, he seemed sad. Asra took Nima’s hand, reassuring them it would be fine. And both crossed quick, not really thinking about it twice.

What they saw was an unbelievable scenario, it was a Palace! The garden, specifically. It was quite deserted, not a single servant could be seen. Nima looked around, and then, at the sky. “Why is it… red?”

“We should go inside. Where all the protections are strong.” Muriel walked at a slow pace at first. “I’ll tell you there.”

Even if they did not trust all the people at the palace, it just felt right to be there. Nima’s chest felt off, as if doing something wrong, but didn’t feel like it was wrong, what did it feel like, then? Asra took their hand again, and once they were both sure of their decision, started to walk behind Muriel. Faust was still hidden, and only poked her little head out to see where they were, and once they saw Muriel, she hid again, knowing that they were in the right path.

The Devil looked at them with genuine admiration, the Apprentice knew they were defying him, but didn't turn back. He was gonna watch for a while, see how far the little magician would go.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. ♡  
> Also, I plan to give the apprentice a gender neutral name, so this chapter will be edited in the future.
> 
> I will announce it on my tumblr blog: asrascumdump.  
> No, I don't regret that username. 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading, and hope it was of your liking.


End file.
